Book description
Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award
"Tom Zoellner tells the story of Sam Sharpe's revolution manque, and the subsequent abolition of slavery in Jamaica, in a way that's acutely relevant to the racial unrest of our own time. Island on Fire is impeccably researched and seductively readable."-Madison Smartt…
Why read it?
1 author picked Island on Fire as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
A non-fiction account of the Jamaican slave uprising in early 1832. Despite the apparently specialist subject, it is not a dry read. It tells a proper story of a fascinating insurrection against slavery, which led to the British Parliament outlawing slavery in all its forms, not just the slave trade. The events are shaming from a British perspective (but there is also the fact that they ended the practice long before others). The brave stand that was taken by the slaves is something that should be a source of pride to descendants.
The book is really well written, so even…
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